


i overthink your punctuation use

by WelcomeToTheBadlands



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ambiguous time setting, Books, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, For Them cottage core whores, Gardens & Gardening, Gentle Giant Ben Solo, Gratuitous Mentions of rivers and strawberries, Mostly Fluff, Rey (Star Wars) Has Issues, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey has Glasses, Sharing a Bed, Shyness, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24988393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WelcomeToTheBadlands/pseuds/WelcomeToTheBadlands
Summary: Best selling author Rey lives in the middle of nowhere in a fantastical little cottage with a beautiful garden. Ben is a landscaper who sees her in the market every once and the while stocking up on food, and always wants to talk to her but can never seem to get in more than a pleasant greeting.What happens when a bad storm and a broken-down car drives them together?
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 13
Kudos: 80





	1. prologue - strawberry

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, if you want to support me, please follow me on twitter @kirasbens and also leave a comment. I run on encouragement and it also helps to read comments when I'm having a tough time, so please consider leaving one if you enjoy.

It was sunny the first time that Ben saw her. She was picking out strawberries at the local farmer’s market with an adorable intensity that made Ben smile. It didn’t take him long to find out what her name was, he heard the store owner call her Rey and he thought that seemed like an apt name because when she caught his gaze and smiled at him it felt like sunshine. She said, “Hi,” so softly that Ben almost didn’t hear her before she left without him getting a chance to say hi back. It was a fairly innocent enough meeting, but the day after he couldn’t get her out of his head. Rey was a petite brunette who was way too beautiful for her own good with thick glasses and the smile of someone that could only be a goddess.

The next time he saw her, it was at the same place, but it was cloudy. That didn’t stop her from lighting up the place. This time they had more conversation than before, “Hi.” She said again.

“Hey,” Ben replied, “how are you doing today?”

She blushed, and Ben wondered if he had done something wrong. But she said, “I-I’m good.” It wasn’t the most conversation ever, but Ben’s heart melted. It was one of the cutest things that he had ever seen. He watched her leave, and part of him wished that he could talk to her more, that he could say something and get to know her. But he didn’t.

This is how they coexisted for the next two years. Ben and Rey would see each other every Sunday, wish each other a good day and that was it. Neither of them talked to the other any more out of that, but Ben didn’t push it, because it was clear that was all that she wanted to do at the moment. He was happy at getting to know her in any capacity, and that little greeting from her always made his week a lot better. Rey seemed to like it too.

Ben didn’t think that the way they coexisted would change any time soon, but one day it did. There were clouds overhead and Ben had been trying to make it home as quickly as possible after dropping some groceries off at his mother’s for her. It was a forty-mile drive to get from her house back to his and he had made a day of it, but of course he had been a dumbass and forgotten to fill up his tank before he got all of the way home, and his spare gas cans were in his house. Which was about twenty miles away by the time he broke down. “Fuck,” Ben cursed to himself, scolding himself for being so stupid and forgetting the extra gas tanks.

He spent a few minutes cursing in his car before getting out and pushing it to the side of the road so that it wouldn’t be a hazard. He wondered if he could fair getting to his house and then just come back the next day when he heard a girl clear her throat. Ben turned around to see her.

“Rey? Hi,” He said, “What are you doing here?”

“I was just taking a walk,” She said. She adjusted her glasses and walked up the little partition to get to the side of the road. “Are you okay?” She asked him. If this were any other scenario, Ben would’ve thought about how this was the most that they had talked and gotten excited about it. Not right now. He was too stressed to think about that right now.

“Not really,” He admitted, “I was stupid and forgot my extra gas tank and my house is like twenty miles from here.”

“Ah,” Rey said, “so you’re my neighbor. I live in the cottage just three miles back,”

“Oh, I didn’t know that you lived there.” He said. There was a minute of awkward silence and Rey adjusted her glasses and glanced up at the sky.

“Well,” She said, “I think that it might be raining soon, and I’d hate you to get stuck out here, so do you want to come back to my place and wait out the rain? I have two extra gas cans that you can have if you want.” She paused and then continued, “That is—if you want—you don’t have to.”

“Are you sure that would be okay? I wouldn’t want to impose,”

“You wouldn’t be,” Rey said.

“Okay then,” Ben said, “I guess I’ll take you up on that offer.” Rey nodded and motioned for him to follow her back to her place. Ben was kind of excited, but also kind of nervous. He had no idea what was going to happen next.

**

If Rey was being honest, the last person that she had a whole conversation with was her literary agent, and that was a month ago and only lasted about ten minutes. She was not the type of person to talk to people, she had never been. She’d always kept her mouth shut, because she knew that she was nothing special and she never wanted to come off as annoying.

This was the most conversation that she had had in a while, there were long pauses in conversation as they walked back to Rey’s home. It was a little cottage that was most covered by trees and had a river running behind it and a full garden. One of the only things that Rey took joy in besides writing. “I never realized just how beautiful your place is,” Ben said.

Rey found herself blushing as she got to door and unlocked it, “Thank you.” She told him. “Just uh—do me a favor and take your shoes off on the mat, thank you.” He did as asked without question and Rey followed suit. Once they were both inside Ben seemed to marvel just a little bit more at her home, talking about how it was a lot cozier than his own. “Do you want some tea?” She asked him.

“You don’t have to do that,”

“I want to,” She said. He smiled at her and she felt like her heart was melting. She just smiled faintly back at him and then looked at the ground.

“Uh—sure.”

“I have lemon or chamomile,”

“Lemon, please.” He said. Rey nodded and went to work, busying herself so she didn’t have to talk very much. That was when the rain started, and it was a lot more than a little downpour. Thunder crackled and roared off in the distance and Rey knew that the night would be a long one.


	2. chapter one - honey

Rey made Ben lemon tea with a little bit of honey and an obscene amount of sugar. So, the first thing that she found out about him was that he had a sweet tooth. It was good to know. Once she gave it to him, he took a sip gratefully and Rey went back to her little kitchen to grab her own tea and come set it down. “Luckily, I brought in the firewood before all of this happened.” She said. “Are you cold? Do you want me to start a fire?” 

“That sounds nice,” Ben told her. Rey took that as her cue to start the fire. She liked having something to busy herself, especially when she didn’t really know what to do in this situation. She wasn’t used to having someone to talk to, so the thought of keeping busy was enough to comfort her for just a little bit. But when she was done and she was sitting across from him, sipping her tea and trying not to make eye contact with Ben. Ben was the first one to try and break the ice because of course, he was. “So,” He said, “how has your day been before this?” 

“Uh,” Rey was still staring into her tea, “it’s been okay I guess. I uh—did my usual chores and then took a walk and that’s it.” She didn’t talk about her writing. She didn’t know why, but she just didn’t. “How was your day?” She wished that she didn’t feel so awkward in this moment, that she knew how to hold a conversation better than she did right now. Part of her just wanted to make an excuse to go and hide in her room, but she didn’t want that because she didn’t want to be rude. 

“Uh,” Ben said, “a lot better now than it was earlier.” 

“And why’s that?” 

“Because of you,” Rey couldn’t help it. She blushed. She wished that she didn’t. 

*

One thing that Ben learned about Rey was that she adjusted her glasses when she was nervous, and she adjusted her glasses a lot. Ben wished that he could do or say something that would make her feel better about this all, but he also learned pretty quickly that she was just painfully shy. So he did his best to not make this conversation too overwhelming for her. 

He started asking her questions. 

The easy, stereotypical ones that you always asked a person when you were getting to know them. 

“What’s your favorite color?” 

“Green. What’s yours?” 

“Red,” 

“Interesting,” Rey said.

“Why is that interesting?” 

“I don’t know, you struck me as more of a ‘blue as a favorite color’ type of guy.” 

“Oh really, and why’s that?” 

“I don’t really know,” she said, “you just give off that type of energy.” 

“Interesting,” Ben said, “I never thought you could give off an ‘I like this color more’ type of energy.” Rey shrugged and the two of them giggled a little. It was nice when the conversation started going a lot more. Ben couldn’t help but feel his heart melt a little whenever he saw Rey smile, it was one of the most beautiful things that he had ever seen in his life. 

Something that you would lock away in the back of your mind and file away for later, to remember when you felt sad. 

Ben liked making her smile. 

They ended up talking for at least four hours before it got dark outside, and it was still raining dangerously hard. Rey yawned and said, “I’m pretty tired, so I think I may retire to my bedroom soon. I have some blankets and a few extra pillows if you need them since the rain isn’t going to let up any time soon.” 

“Yes, thank you. You’ve been so kind, I really appreciate it.” 

“Well I wasn’t exactly going to leave you in a car all by yourself, was I?” Rey pointed out. 

“Right, but we barely knew each other and you went out of your way to help me. I really appreciate it.” Rey just nodded and smiled and mumbled something about going to find him some bedding to use. She came back hurriedly with two blankets and two pillows.

“Here,” She said, “Do you need anything else?” 

“No,” Ben said, “and again. Thank you,” 

“I-it’s not a problem,” Rey wasn’t making eye contact with him. “I’m going to go to bed now.” 

“Okay then,” He said, “goodnight, Rey.” 

“Goodnight, Ben.” 

*

In the morning, the rain had stopped and Rey was already up making breakfast. Ben got up with a start. “What time is it?” He asked. 

“It’s eight fifty,” She said. “Are you hungry?” 

“No,” He said, “I don’t usually eat breakfast but uh—thanks.” 

“Oh, okay. Let me get you the gas cans,” Rey disappeared for another moment and came back with the gas cans. “Do you want me to drive you to your car?” 

“If it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle?” 

“It really isn’t.” She said quietly. 

“Thank you,” He said, “really. For everything.” 

Rey just smiled and nodded, and the two of them went about their day until they were both outside next to her car. That’s when Ben watched Rey’s face crumple and he saw what had happened. It turned out that the storm was bad enough that the tarps and other things that Rey had used to protect her garden had been torn up, and most of her garden as well as part of her deck was destroyed as well. Soil was overturned and a pot or two had been broken and the wreckage rested on her deck. He could see the look on her face, the way she bit at her lip trying to focus on something else besides the carnage. “Well,” Rey sighed, “that’s going to take a while to replace.” 

“I’m sorry,” Ben said. 

“Yeah,” Rey shrugged, she sniffed and turned back to her car, “we should probably get going back to your car.” She said. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Rey said, “I’m fine.” Ben could tell that she wasn’t telling the whole truth and seeing her look upset hurt him a little. Even though the two of them didn’t know each other very well. The two of them got in the car and Rey started driving him back to his truck. 

The two of them were silent for a few minutes before Ben said, “You know, I’m a landscaper.” 

“Yeah?” Rey raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Ben said, “I could fix your garden and your deck for you.” 

“Really?” The two of them had stopped right next to his car. 

“Yes,” Ben said, “really.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” 

“I want to,” Ben said. Rey was quiet again for a minute, smiling. 

“That’s so nice,” Rey said, “I can pay you.” 

“I can do it for free,” He said. 

“But—” 

“I mean, you went out of your way to help me so why not?” He saw Rey blush just a little bit and she bit her lip. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure, Rey. I want to.” 

“Okay then,” Rey said, “that would be really nice. If you could do that. I can provide lunch and snacks and stuff for you. If you insist on me not paying you,” 

“It’s a deal then.”


	3. chapter two - sugar

It took Ben a few weeks to get everything that he needed to fix up Rey’s garden together, but he was excited. He really wanted to see her again, more than anything. So he was a little more than elated when a letter in pretty script appeared in his mailbox. He smiled when he saw her address on it, going back up to his house and opening the letter once he got in the door. It was the only piece of mail that he cared about. 

_ Dear Ben,  _

_ Hi, I’m not sure if this is weird but I wanted to thank you for coming over to fix my garden and other landscape stuff. I really appreciate it a lot, and I’m not sure if I conveyed that properly to you when we had spoken. I’m not very good at talking to people, orally. I’m pretty sure that you noticed that. It’s a lot easier for me to express my feelings like this.  _

_ I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed the time that we spent together. I know that it wasn’t a lot of time, but it was the closest thing to hanging out with someone that I’ve had ever. I just wanted to let you know that I’m grateful for that, and how nice you were to me even though you didn’t have to do that.  _

_ I don’t know if you felt the same way but I would really like it if even after this we continued to talk. I think that we could be really good friends.  _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ Rey  _

Ben had never been one for letters. Dyslexia had always made it hard for him to read things, especially handwritten letters like this, but this one he just sat and read over and over again and he just smiled. It was so simple but there was something about it that he just couldn’t get over. 

He immediately wrote back.

_ Dear Rey,  _

_ Hi, this is definitely not weird. I’m so glad that you wanted to write to me and took the time to do that. I was so happy to see your letter in my mailbox. I hope that you don’t mind if my letters are that great. I have dyslexia and am not very good at writing but I’ll try my best.  _

_ I wanted to tell you that I also enjoyed the time we spent together. It was the best thing to happen to me all week, really. I’d love to be friends. I don’t know about you, but I’ve wanted to be your friend since the first time we met at the market.  _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ Ben _

When he sent it he wished that he was seeing her already. He couldn’t wait for the next few days to pass. 

When Ben finally saw her again, he had knocked on her door to let her know that he had come over to get started. Rey had opened it rather timidly and smiled at him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Hi,” She said. 

“Hi,” Ben had never been the person to feel undone just by looking at someone. But here he was, staring at her, and thinking about just how beautiful she was. “Did you get my letter?” 

“Yes,” She smiled, “I liked it a lot.” 

“Good,” He said. “I uh—I have everything to start so I’m just going to get to work okay,” 

“Uh, okay. Hold on,” Rey disappeared for a moment and came back with a big pitcher of ice-cold water and a glass. She set it on one of the tables that was still up on her porch. “Just in case you get thirsty,” Rey told him, “I’m going to start about making your lunch—” 

“You don’t have to go through all that effort, though,” Ben told her. 

“I want to,” Rey insisted, “after all you are fixing my garden.” She adjusted her glasses a little bit nervously. Ben wanted to ask her if he made her nervous. He already knew the answer to that though. 

“Well then,” Ben chuckled, “okay. Thank you,” 

“Thank you,” Rey blushed a little, “I’ll let you get to work. I’m going to leave the door open if you need anything.” 

Ben nodded and got back to work, thinking about the dusting of freckles across her cheeks that he hadn’t noticed before. It made him smile. 

*

Rey had spent all week going back and forth on what to make for Ben for lunch. She wasn’t exactly sure what he liked, so this time she just prepared some sandwiches on french bread for him with a dipping sauce and then started working on a batch of cookies that she had been wanting to try out the recipe for all month. She was pleased with the result, so when she was done she took everything outside to give to him. 

The pitcher of water was nearly empty and Ben had made significant progress cleaning up the wreckage from the storm by the time that she had come out. “Hey,” She said. He looked up to see the food that she was bringing out. 

The way his face lit up a little made Rey smile. It was cute. 

“Wow,” He said, “those look good.” 

“Yeah?” Rey bit her lip. “I hope they are. I didn’t really know what you liked so I just guessed. I hope that’s alright,” 

“It’s more than alright,” Ben said, “thank you.” Part of Rey told herself to stay around longer, to talk to him. But the other part of her was freaking out a little bit already. Maybe it was the fact that even though Ben Solo was sweating from working in the dirt for a bit, he was the most attractive person that Rey had ever seen. 

“So, uh—I’ve got to work on something. But uh, I’m still going to leave the door unlocked so if you need anything just feel free to come in. I’ll be in my study,” 

“Okay,” He gave her the sweetest smile that Rey had ever seen. She wasn’t sure that her heart would be able to take another second of it when she turned around and closed the door behind her. She started blushing uncontrollably and shaking her head as she moved to her study. At least there, Ben wouldn’t be able to see if she did anything embarrassing. 


End file.
